Behind These Blocky Bandages
by xoxLEXIxox
Summary: Years of betrayal forced her into hiding her face behind a mask. His consequences from previous crimes were hidden behind bandages. In this insane world where the very forces of nature are trodden underfoot, the two are thrown together in a desperate attempt to survive; dark secrets or not. Rated T for expressing darker feelings that most push away.


**Welcome, readers, although there are few and far between! And… welcome… **to... this story. I would've continued that in bold font, but… I'm just not feeling it today. :/

So… Here's a story that the dark, messed-up part of my mind created. I'm using it to relieve all my stress… About things. No one knows, but Flu might know a bit. So… If I'm angry, the characters will be angry. If someone hurts my feelings, I'll have the main character's feelings hurt. You get the point, right? Of course you don't. In short, if this story sucks blocks, I'm sorry. It's just a way to vent my feelings.

So… On to the story. I'll bake you some cookies if you review…

* * *

Aeria let loose a deep sigh—the kind that starts from the very bottom of your lungs and expands, growing until your throat rumbles with a realization of the melancholy and solitude you feel deep inside.

But that aside, it was the start of a new day. A beautiful sunrise cast crisscross lines of soft pinks and oranges across the oak plank floor. Aeria walked across the room to the small window above her table, leaning against the pressure-pad top with a small, resounding _click_. She gazed longingly out the glass pane, watching through the frosty surface at the radiant, angular sun. It slowly climbed its way into the bright blue sky, and Aeria collected herself for a moment to plan out the following day.

"...and once I finish that, I'll explore the jungle some more." she concluded, not even feeling a tiny bit strange that she was talking to the sun. Her eyes focused on what was in front of her, the sharp change of perspective causing her temples to throb. Light blue-and-purple eyes surrounded by a black mask stared back at Aeria. She slowly reached up to the back of her head, where her mask was tied into a thick knot.

Slowly, thin fingers undid the mask and it fell to the floor. Aeria winced at her reflection, quickly averting her gaze. She could still see herself, though, out of the corner of her left eye, and she cautiously turned to meet herself again, become familiar with the face that had caused her so much grief.

Of course, she no longer cared about her appearance. That had stopped shortly after she began wearing the mask. Her scraggly black hair had since lost its sheen, her pale lips void of color. Her hair fell down to her waist now, ever since she had stopped using shears to maintain it.

The figure she stared at before her was the cause of so much agony, pain, and heartbreak.

She snarled at her reflection, sudden anger flaring and causing a white-hot burst of energy to course through her veins. She slammed her fist into the glass, satisfied with the sharp _crunch _that came from the glass shattering. She swung her fist again and again, hitting the glass pane with more and more force each time, until finally her fist broke through to the other side.

The sudden weight of Aeria's momentum caused her fist to plunge through all the way, pulling her with it, her arm painfully scraping along glass shards that surrounded the fist-shaped hole in the glass. She fell against the wall, her shoulder pressed against the outer remains of the glass pane, her arm sticking out of the gap in the wall. She cursed softly under her breath as she pulled her arm back through the wall, shards of glass scraping and unevenly cutting her arm along the way, tearing through the black fabric of her sleeve. She winced and inspected her bleeding arm, her head pounding and throbbing from pain. _Why?_

Aeria had lost all sanity a long, long time ago.

* * *

Ash was mad. Not just mad, but furious. _At what? What?_he'd ask himself, but the truth was, he didn't know. Maybe it was because his wolf died two nights ago. Maybe it was because he'd accidentally tossed his diamonds into lava the other day. Or maybe, he was just mad at himself. For being an idiot. For screwing up. For ruining everything. Everything he loved.

Ash kicked the trunk of a tree, cursing loudly as he stumbled on a root and landed swiftly on his hands. He brushed the soil off onto his pants. _Stupid tree. Stupid world. Stupid life._

Ash continued on his walk through the forest. He gripped his trusty flint 'n' steel in one hand. "Blaze", he had nicknamed the handy tool. Of course, he'd had it since he was little, but it was a toy he wasn't willing to let go.

"This _sucks_!" Ash yelled, to no one in particular. Not like there was anyone to hear him, anyway. Maybe that's what he was so mad about. Being alone! Ash snorted. Not likely. He did miss having Magma, his wolf, to talk to, but... Other than that, he was fine on his own.

Then why was he so angry?

"Well, I'm bored." He declared, walking into a forest clearing. He kicked at some grass beneath his feet. If only there was something to do. He could—no, he wouldn't. That's what had gotten him into so much trouble. That's what screwed up everything. He would never, ever destroy one more thing. Even if no one was around.

The sun was perched in the middle of the sky by now, shining harshly on Ash's shoulders. He was sweating, soaking through the green bandages that covered his entire head. Sorta like a bandit. Or a thief. Or an outlaw.

He shook his head. He had those bandages for a reason. He wouldn't take them off. Ever. Even if no one was watching.

A wandering chicken pecked at his foot, causing him to jump a few blocks into the air. _Stupid chicken_. He picked up the fowl by its neck, staring it in the eyes. It squawked, stubby little wings fluttering.

"What're _you_ looking at?" Ash dropped the chicken, but not before kicking it far into the air. He smirked in satisfaction as it _bwuak-bwaaak_ed while disappearing out of his sight.

Ash sighed as evening music started to play. He had stopped questioning where the sad music came from. At least it told him that it was starting to get dark—not like he could just look at the sky. He looked quickly at Blaze, fingering the iron bar in his hand. It'd only be a small fire. Just a tiny one. He'd only watch the flames devour one tree—just one tree!—and then he'd stomp the fire out. _No_. he argued, determined to never destroy again.

Ash watched himself in horror—he was in that stupor again—as he knelt down by a tree and struck the flint against the iron.

_No!_

A shower of sparks flew against the tree trunk.

_No!_

The wood began to smoke.

_No!_

Ash grinned madly as he struck it again, stumbling backwards onto his elbows as the wood caught aflame.

_No!_

The fire engulfed the wood, spreading to the leaves.

_No!_

Smoke rose into the air, the fire dancing from treetop to treetop.

_No!_

The night seemed like day. Fire was everywhere. The forest crackled and smoked. Trees collapsed underneath the fire.

_NO!_

Ash hung his head in shame, a sudden wave of guilt slamming him in the face. The sharp smell of smoke filled his lungs every time he breathed. Fire danced around him, but thank Notch he was invulnerable to flames. He looked around at the chaos he had created. There were no trees left, just a barren field of flames and smoke. What had he done?

* * *

Aeria winced as she swung her axe at the mossy wood of a jungle tree, her injured arm now bandaged and stiff. _Just one more bandaged to cover my cursed body,_she coldy thought. The iron blade swung repeatedly at the tree, reflecting sunlight and scattering dots of white light around the thick forestation of the jungle.

She peered into the sky, heaving the axe over her shoulder to take a break from her lumberjack afternoon. Bushy green leaves covered most of the bright blue sky, the noonday sun peeking through a particularly green branch. Vines hung off the large jungle tree she stood under, waving gently in the wind.

A light wind from the south brushed Aeria's cheek and she flinched. She closed her eyes and sniffed deeply. It smelt strong and acrid, and it burned a bit in her lungs. Was that... Smoke? Her light periwinkle eyes shot open again, watering slightly from the bright sun that was directly overhead now. She pivoted on her foot, clutching her iron axe tightly in her bandaged hand. She began walking slowly towards the south, her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

Aeria came to a clearing in the jungle, stumbling and cursing softly as she struggled to keep her balance. She peered into the ravine that she had almost fallen into. It seemed barren of any ores, just a jagged scratch in the earth revealing dirt and stone. She stepped back, hesitating slightly before throwing herself off the edge. The world blurred before her, the wind whistling in her ears as her pulse quickened. Time seemed to slow down, and she pushed forward with all of her might, landing gracefully on the other side.

Aeria dusted off her hands, continuing on her journey to find the source of the smoke. She occasionally peered into the sky, frowning at the dark smudge of ash that tainted the orange sky. She hummed along quietly to the bittersweet music that she began to hear, signaling dusk.

Sometimes, she wondered if she was the only one that could hear the music.

* * *

All too sweetly, the pain of the realization passed through Ash.

He had broken a promise. He had made the same mistakes. He hadn't changed one bit—he was still that traitorous, hated outlaw. He would never change. A tear slipped from his smoke-stung eyes, and for the first time, he let it fall to the charred ground. _Don't cry, stupid idiot_. Much worse thoughts passed through his mind. But one, out of all, stood out. How he never cried.

Even when he was ignored, he never cried.

Even when he remembered the hate-filled and horrified looks his loved ones had given him, he never cried.

Even when the outraged city cheered as he was blown to smithereens, giving him his scars, he never cried.

Even when he felt as alone as he did now, he never cried.

He was too strong for that. Life had roughened him up. It had strengthened him. Shown him how cruel people could truly be. Including himself.

But there he was, and another tear betrayed him.

Inside Ash's mind was a whirlpool of emotions and thoughts, all blending together in a horrible mush of dread. He knew he just had to man up. But he couldn't. Even Ash, stubborn as he was, knew full well that he needed to cry.

So Ash, the green-bandaged outlaw, fell to the ground and just cried.

* * *

**So… there you have it! (Yay, I'm happy enough to use an exclamation mark!) I'm feeling better now, after venting all that stuff, thus the bold text… But don't get me wrong, this story does have a plot. It just might change a bit, due to whatever may happen to me. **

**Um… Yeah! Hope you enjoyed! If not, let me know (ex. Uh.. Lexi.. This sucked.. It was way too dramatic and you used "your" instead of "you're" in the second, third, fifteenth, twentieth, and twenty second paragraph, and you keep switching tenses) and I'll put all my effort into trying to fix it!**

_**The**__** story of life is quicker than the wink of an eye, the story of love is hello and goodbye...until we meet again.**_


End file.
